At 6-foot-11 with red hair (although not nearly as bright as it was in his youth) and a smile that seems to stretch from ear to ear, Walton's presence commanded the undivided attention from the audience of nearly 600 people at the VIA Basketball Banquet at the Sands Event Center on Wednesday.

He touched briefly on all the success he experienced on the court, but he also focused on everything that led to those triumphs. It wasn't just the two national championships he won at UCLA or the two NBA titles — one in Portland in 1977 and the other in Boston in 1986 — that he worked hard for, though. Walton wanted to win at the game of life.

That was instilled in him at an early age by his parents Ted and Gloria, whom Walton called his "teachers and heroes in this great game of life," although they couldn't help him in sports since they were "two of the most unathletic people I'd ever seen in my life." He carried those lessons through his teenage years and as he grew to nearly seven feet tall college coaches began visiting the Walton household.

Those coaches made their sales pitches: "Billy, come to our school, we'll win titles and you'll set all kinds of records. And by the way, Mr. Walton you're a hard-working man so how about a new job? And Mrs. Walton, how about a shopping spree? And Billy, here's the head cheerleader's phone number, she's our closer out there."

Those last few lines had motives of drawing laughter, but then Walton turned serious when it came to the sales pitch him and his family went all in on. When legendary UCLA coach John Wooden came to San Diego to recruit Walton it "changed my life forever." There was no fancy spiel, no gaudy guarantees or pretty girls waiting for Walton's arrival. There was only one promise: "I know what all the other schools are telling you and promising you, but the only promise I can make is that I'll give you a chance to be a part of something special."

Walton took that chance and in three years (freshmen were not eligible to play at the time) UCLA won two titles, won a record 88 straight games and Walton was named the national player of the year three times and nation's top amateur athlete in 1973.

He carried that success into the NBA, going No. 1 to the Trail Blazers in 1974, and after battling injuries in his first two years. Walton led Portland to the NBA title in 1977 and was named the league MVP in 1978 before injuries nearly derailed his career. He fought back again and again, something that would carry him through the rest of his life, to become the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year on the Celtics' 1986 championship team.

Once his playing career ended, Walton had interest in broadcasting, but he had always had a stuttering problem. Just like the injuries, Walton fought his speech impediment, even though "English was my fifth language after stammering, stumbling, stuttering and spitting," to become one of the most renowned color analysts of the past 25 years.

There was more adversity to overcome.

As the audience hung on his every word, Walton spoke about the 30-plus surgeries he underwent on his feet and ankles. He talked about the time when he needed an eight-hour spinal surgery six years ago only to be knocked off his beloved bike a few years later that led to another hospital stay and more surgery.

There was no quit in this man.

As he paced the podium feverishly back and forth, he told the crowd of words that inspired him. While Wooden cited William Shakespeare as one of his favorites, Walton had "Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan and Neil Young, who were all absolutely incredible." But it wasn't just the words of Wooden or his favorite musical artists that carried such weight with Walton on Wednesday night.

He told all in attendance, especially the basketball all-stars who were honored, to appreciate all the hard work everyone had put in in this world.

"Before you go home stop in the hallway and look at the pictures of all the workers who all worked so hard and who sweat, and were covered in ore and iron, and put everything they had into make this great Bethlehem Sands Resort," Walton said. "The pictures on that wall, that's toughness."

But there was something missing.

When Walton visited Wooden shortly before his death at age 99 in 2010, the legendary coach shared a few things with his star pupil. The man who had come up with the pyramid of success told Walton he had forgot something.

"But Coach, it took you 14 years to perfect the pyramid of success and you were so successful with it," Walton responded. "You're telling me you forgot something?"